BOSTON, Mass. – The second-seeded Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team will host the third-seeded Wildcats of Johnson & Wales University on Thursday, April 12 at 7:00 p.m. in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Semifinal match.
The Leopards cemented the No. 2 spot with an 11-3 conference record, while the Raiders of Rivier University locked in the No. 1 seed with a perfect 14-0 post against league opponents.
In last night's First Round matchup, JWU downed the Lions of Emerson College in straight sets and will face Wentworth in the GNAC Semifinal for the second straight year.
The Leopards are averaging 11.87 kills per set, a statistic that ranks second among conference leaders with Rivier holding the top spot at 12.49 kills per set. Senior Ollie Oshman (Pennington, N.J.) is hitting .507 on the season – leading all conference opponents – and is also averaging a conference-best 1.30 blocks per set. JWU follows with 10.69 kills per set, led by sophomore Sanjae Holloway (East Hartford, Conn.) with 208 kills this season.
Senior Collin Ritter (Feeding Hills, Mass.) is hitting .361 behind Oshman, and has totaled a team-best in both kills and assists with 271 and 510, respectively. Ritter became the Wentworth all-time assists leader on March 27, and now holds the record at 3,521.
Defensively, freshman libero Peter Klembczyk (Penfield, N.Y.) is averaging 2.40 digs per set for 226 on the season. Klembczyk has been named the GNAC Rookie/Defensive Player of the Week three times this season to lead all rookies in the league.
The winner of tomorrow night's Semifinal will advance to the GNAC Championship at the highest remaining seed on Saturday. Rivier will host Emmanuel College tomorrow evening at 7:00 p.m. as well, as the Saints staged a valiant comeback to defeat the Lasell Lasers in last night's First Round matchup.
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